Digitalis Presents: ‘Born Again For The First Time’ Compilation
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In celebration of the newly designed Digitalis Recordings website, the consistently progressive label collected a group of fresh tracks from the labels ever-expanding roster. This 23 track experience is an important listen—and it happens to be free for full download here.
The other day I rode the New York scented subway nowhere in particular. And not one other of the accidentally-put-together people seemed to be going anywhere either. Each of us 14 haphazards had a separate pair of headphones, earbuds, noise devices. Which lead me to wonder what music made the backgrounds of those who had no relation other than the perchance touching of elbows. Did sophisticated jazz mask the real life trash of she whose feet couldn’t reach the floor? Or was nothing playing, and those listening devices were just deceptive pleas to not be solicited for human interaction for however many minutes we rode. Were those 13 at the last stop of the line going where I was? Into the sultry vibrancy of “Love and Happiness”. Or into the contrary, scratched at thrash of Brainshadows‘ “Slow Bump”. Or were they going nowhere, over and over, into the inexplicably alone caves of “Loop 7″ by Sovetskaya Gone. I’ve always found it curious how music can take you somewhere when you’re going nowhere, and how that somewhere may be a place someone else has been, or even presently is. And how maybe, she or he who’s presently in that somewhere is right next to you, accidentally grazing elbows at overwhelming turns. But mostly, I become curious as to where the composer was when creating the place unplanned listeners then go. I asked the artists of the 3 songs I listened to repeatedly on that aimless train ride where they were when creating them. Here’s what they had to say:
As far as my track is concerned it’s basically a concept I’ve had in my mind for a long time now, really it was the first song I ever made as Thug Entrancer. It’s gone through several variations, this final version was the one I was most happy with. It’s largely about my relationship with the TR-808 and how organic the rhythms from the machine feel. I think Al Green’s “Love and Happiness” is one of the greatest songs ever, the rhythm has an incredible feeling to it. I wanted to re-work that feeling into a contemporary ghetto house fashion (footwork), replacing the grime with soul. -Thug Entrancer
We improvised “Slow Bump” with multi-tracked first-take abandon, a dark, bare-bones funk soundtracking urban dread in the midst of a hot summer. Wah’ed Casio and electric bass are the only melodic elements; the spoken vocals a grimey beat-haiku of existential filth. – Brainshadows
Loop 7′ was recorded a few days after I settled into my current residence in October 2009. It means nothing more than a proper lullaby & sonic embodiment of my memories of Los Angeles, October 2009. Bitter cold LA October morning. Relieved of unpacking 3 years worth of crap from boxes from my prior place. Moving in with a girl that I still would give my left arm for, for the first time. This is the sound of an instrument that has since been fine-tuned and fine-wined into a Europa state of consciousness and state of mind. This track embodies the person I was then, and the instrument I know I am now. Ever gaze down @ your feet as you walked along a dusty foreign terrain & remember the brown moon dust that kicked up after every step you took? That’s “Loop 7″. - Sovetskaya Gone
Well done Digitalis, and thank you very much.
